PHILADELPHIA — If it wasn’t quite a new culture for the Flyers it was at least something new — a victory.

Behind an outstanding performance by goaltender Steve Mason, the Flyers notched their first win of the season and gave Craig Berube something to remember from his first NHL head coaching moment, a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers at Wells Fargo Center.

In a way, it was a game that was an ode to Berube the player...effective, but not pretty.

“We had a new system today and did a good job working it,” Claude Giroux said. “It’s an ugly win, but we’ll take it.”

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As for his usually stylish game, however, the slump is getting old for Giroux.

Four games into the season, the Flyers are sitting at 1-3, and not only because Mason stole this win. It’s also a testament to how people like Giroux, Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds haven’t garnered as much as a single point between them.

One game in, the challenge to change that remains for Berube.

Already, it seems to be haunting his team captain.

“I just want to play good,” Giroux said. “I want to play to my best abilities. It’s frustration right now, but one day I’ll have to wake up and just...be ready to play. It’s not like I’m not trying out there. It’s just plays are not there and I’m trying to make them there.

“It’s a beautiful game. I should enjoy it. It feels like I’m not enjoying it right now. So I’ll go back to the basics here and...I don’t know. Play a little physical? I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll figure it out, though.”

The Flyers looked rather baffled as a team through much of the game’s first two periods, and only an early Tim Thomas meltdown in the Florida net enabled the Flyers to get enough of an early jump to hang on and avoid what would have been a fourth loss to start the season.

That lead only held up because Mason amped his game from good to great, especially in a second period when he was tested during consecutive Panther power plays. He also had to stop a shorthanded breakaway by Shawn Matthias after Kimmo Timonen turned the puck over to him.

“Right now there’s going to be a learning curve because of the new things (Berube’s) trying to bring in,” Mason said. “We only had 30 minutes out there for a pre-game skate to become familiar with it, so we have two days’ practice before our next game and that’s where we are going to start to get familiar with things.”

The Flyers returned the favor early in the third with a brilliant kill of a four-minute Panther power play, courtesy of a not-so brilliant moment by Flyer fighter Jay Rosehill, who mugged one Panther behind the net then tried to fight everybody else.

“It was a weak call originally, and then what he did after that was unacceptable,” Berube said. “You can’t do it. He knows that.”

Asked if he thought Rosehill should be subject to a little discipline for the miscue, Berube deadpanned, “You want me to spank him?”

Well, it’s not like it hasn’t happened before...

Trying to appear title-ready before their new head coach, the Flyers were energetic early, but effective only because Thomas, the 39-year-old goalie trying to come back after skipping a year, couldn’t help but skip all over the crease.

His first dance came when Jake Voracek ripped a shot wide that took a lively bounce off the backboards. Thomas bounced, too, leaving a wide open net for Brayden Schenn to deposit the rebound into 4:49 into the game.

Thomas was again way out of position a few minutes later, and Braydon Coburn used the opportunity to drive a long shot into the unprotected net at 7:31 for a 2-0 Flyers lead. It was right after that Thomas went down the tunnel after telling head coach Kevin Dineen he didn’t feel all that hot. The ex-Flyer behind the other bench said his goalie had likely injured his groin.

After that, however, everything that ails the Flyers offense came right back to haunt them.

“Offensively we have to get better; we have to have more of an attack,” Berube said. “I do know we have good offensive players. It’s a matter of getting them confident and getting some chemistry going.”

For one night, at least, the lack of Flyers chemistry wouldn’t be their undoing, essentially because of Mason (33 saves). He came up with a series of big stops, and was had only with six seconds left in the second period. That’s when Brad Boyes scored on a rebound to put a little fear into the game. But the Flyers appeared settled in the third, gained momentum by killing the double minor penalty, and cruised the rest of the way. They had little worries in the last few minutes because Florida’s Ryan Whitney took an ill-advised penalty late that took the comeback hopes out of the Panthers.

One encouraging period out of three ain’t bad. At least it wasn’t on this night.

“It’s going to come,” Giroux said, speaking this time for the team rather than himself. “Our lines have got to be better defensively. I’ve got to be better defensively. And when we do that, we’re going to have more chances.”